Turnaround Leadership Research Articles

Approaches to education for sustainability leadership development in higher education: an international comparative study in the Asia Pacific region

Purpose This study aims to focus on key approaches to education for sustainability (EfS) leadership development in the context of Malaysian and Japanese universities. The authors identify key indicators of effective EfS leadership development approaches using both descriptive and inferential analyses, identify and compare the preferred leadership learning methods of academics and examine the impact of marital status, country of residence and administrative position on the three EfS leadership development approaches. Design/methodology/approach The study is quantitative in approach and survey in design. Data were collected from 664 academics and analysed using the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) methodology. To provide higher education researchers with more analytical insights, the authors re-estimated the models based on the maximum likelihood methodology and compared the results across the two methods. Findings The inferential results underscored the significance of four EfS leadership learning methods, namely, “Involvement in professional leadership groups or associations, including those concerned with EfS”, “Being involved in a formal mentoring/coaching program”, “Completing formal leadership programs provided by my institution” and “Participating in higher education leadership seminars”. Additionally, the authors noted a significant impact of country of residence on the three approaches to EfS leadership development. Furthermore, although marital status emerged as a predictor for self-managed learning and formal leadership development (with little practical relevance), administrative position did not exhibit any influence on the three approaches. Practical implications In addition to the theoretical and methodological implications drawn from the findings, the authors emphasize a number of practical implications, namely, exploring the applicability of the results to other East Asian countries, the adaptation of current higher education leadership development programmes focused on the key challenges faced by successful leaders in similar roles, and the consideration of a range of independent variables including marital status, administrative position and country of residence in the formulation of policies related to EfS leadership development. Originality/value This study represents an inaugural international comparative analysis that specifically examines EfS leadership learning methods. The investigation uses the research approach and conceptual framework used in the international Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education initiative and uses the PLSe2 methodology to inferentially pinpoint key learning methods and test the formulated hypotheses.

Is society caught up in a Death Spiral? Modeling societal demise and its reversal.

Just like an army of ants caught in an ant mill, individuals, groups and even whole societies are sometimes caught up in a Death Spiral, a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing dysfunctional behavior characterized by continuous flawed decision making, myopic single-minded focus on one (set of) solution(s), denial, distrust, micromanagement, dogmatic thinking and learned helplessness. We propose the term Death Spiral Effect to describe this difficult-to-break downward spiral of societal decline. Specifically, in the current theory-building review we aim to: (a) more clearly define and describe the Death Spiral Effect; (b) model the downward spiral of societal decline as well as an upward spiral; (c) describe how and why individuals, groups and even society at large might be caught up in a Death Spiral; and (d) offer a positive way forward in terms of evidence-based solutions to escape the Death Spiral Effect. Management theory hints on the occurrence of this phenomenon and offers turn-around leadership as solution. On a societal level strengthening of democracy may be important. Prior research indicates that historically, two key factors trigger this type of societal decline: rising inequalities creating an upper layer of elites and a lower layer of masses; and dwindling (access to) resources. Historical key markers of societal decline are a steep increase in inequalities, government overreach, over-integration (interdependencies in networks) and a rapidly decreasing trust in institutions and resulting collapse of legitimacy. Important issues that we aim to shed light on are the behavioral underpinnings of decline, as well as the question if and how societal decline can be reversed. We explore the extension of these theories from the company/organization level to the society level, and make use of insights from both micro-, meso-, and macro-level theories (e.g., Complex Adaptive Systems and collapsology, the study of the risks of collapse of industrial civilization) to explain this process of societal demise. Our review furthermore draws on theories such as Social Safety Theory, Conservation of Resources Theory, and management theories that describe the decline and fall of groups, companies and societies, as well as offer ways to reverse this trend.

From High Discipline Referrals to High-Engagement Classrooms: A Design-Based Approach to Creating a Campus-Wide Culture of Positive Learning Support for At-Risk Student Populations through Transforming Educators’ Instructional Teaming Practices

Instructional leaders in many school districts throughout the United States are increasingly confronted with spiraling numbers of discipline referrals from teachers who are unable to manage the off-task behaviors and discipline infractions of the growing percentages of diverse, academically at-risk students populating their classrooms. Many of these at-risk students, who come from families that are economically disadvantaged and have culturally rich and linguistically diverse backgrounds, have become stigmatized and minoritized by an education system whose curricula are often woefully inadequate in being able to meet the unique social and academic support needs of these diverse learners. This article profiles how one high school principal and his instructional turnaround leadership task force colleagues working in a high diversity urban school district utilized multi-leveled data analysis investigative thinking and innovative professional learning program design strategies derived from the education improvement science literature to implement a comprehensive intervention program for ninth through twelfth grade teams of core content teachers and their instructional supervisors. The specific goals of the intervention program were to: 1) change educators’ entrenched pedagogical thinking and instructional planning mindsets regarding the motivation levels and learning capabilities of the high discipline referral students who regularly engage in off-task disruptive behaviors in their classrooms; and 2) transform teachers’ instructional data teaming practices to better serve the academic learning support needs of the campus’s minoritized students. The design-based approach to instructional improvement employed in the high school case study leveraged the use of multiple cycles of new knowledge and skills acquisition, critical self-reflection, and immersive professional learning to assist educators in exploring how to engage together in authentic data teaming and data analysis–informed differentiated instructional planning to craft high-engagement classroom learning environments and interactive instructional units to effectively address the academic development and support needs of the campus’s diverse, at-risk learners.

A comparative study on turnaround leadership in higher education and the successful implementation of the UN’s sustainable development goals

PurposeGiven the increased emphasis on embedding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the curriculum, research, engagement activities and operations of higher education institutions, this comparative study aims to replicate an earlier international study of Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education (TLSHE) in the unique context of Malaysia and Japan. This paper also presents a case for closer focus on developing Education for Sustainability (EfS) leaders in institutions of higher learning.Design/methodology/approachThis study is a quantitative comparative research. The authors collected data for EfS-related variables from lecturers affiliated with Malaysian and Japanese public and private universities. Building on the data and results from the TLSHE study, this study made a series of within- and between-sample descriptive comparisons from different angles and levels. To generalize the findings, this study used gender and experience outside higher education as control variables and compared the academics from the Malaysian and the Japanese institutions through the path modeling framework.FindingsThe comparisons showed that except for two domains, namely, contextual factors influencing EfS leadership and the EfS leadership development approaches, the means of all other domains based on the data collected from the Malaysian sample were the highest, followed by means from the international TLSHE sample, and finally the means from the Japanese sample. This study also observed that transparency, engagement with EfS initiatives at different levels, passion for teaching and learning, and creative and lateral thinking were among the top indicators. The inferential tests revealed significant differences between the academics from Japan and Malaysia as well.Practical implicationsThe findings of the analyses can be used to ensure that the selection and development of EfS leaders (in this case, lecturers who may be formal or informal EfS leaders), not just at the central but at the local level in the distinctive context of Japan and Malaysia, focus on what counts and the good ideas embodied in the 17 UN SDGs are actually put into practice. This study has also highlighted the policy implications with respect to the gender and the previous work experience of lecturers outside higher education sector in more detail.Originality/valueThis study compares the perceptions of two samples of academics from Asian countries with the perceptions of the international TLSHE sampled EfS leaders in terms of EfS leadership-related issues and therefore, increases the awareness of academic community in this regard. It also highlights the role of lecturers (e.g. professors) as intellectual academic leaders in achieving SDGs. Moreover, this study shows that lecturers’ gender and previous work experience outside higher education should be considered when developing and implementing policies on EfS leadership.

The Application of the Turnaround Leadership Concept amongst Senior Assistants of Student Affairs Towards Teachers’ Viability in Rural Primary Schools in Sabah

The Application of the Turnaround Leadership Concept amongst Senior Assistants of Student Affairs Towards Teachers’ Viability in Rural Primary Schools in Sabah

Worst to First: Turnaround Leadership Through the Lens of Successful High School Football Coaches

Turnaround leadership is a topic of particular interest within sports, as newly hired coaches are often expected to transform struggling teams into “winners.” The present study qualitatively examined American high school football coaches (N = 11) who led a dramatic turnaround within their school’s football program. After being hired, these participants experienced relatively quick success, as they achieved a winning record (M = 1.73 years) and reached the state playoffs within a short period of time (M = 1.82 years). Steps of the turnaround process included assembling a staff of quality assistants, creating a vision for program success, formulating a strong plan that supported the vision, generating buy-in from players and key members of the program, creating and celebrating early achievements, sustaining success through the establishment of new goals and benchmarks, and fighting the urge to become complacent once new levels of success were reached (i.e., making change stick). As a part of their coaching turnarounds, all of the participants talked about the importance of incorporating a quality strength and conditioning program into their team’s training regimen. Meanwhile, the majority of the participants identified “educational athletics” as the core of their coaching philosophy, in which they viewed their jobs as coaches as an extension of the classroom. Moreover, most participants implemented character education into their programs and used football as a platform for teaching life lessons to their players. Yet, the most recurrent theme of the process, and the most recommended approach for achieving a coaching turnaround, was establishing positive coach–athlete relationships.

Turnaround Leadership for School Sustainability

A substantial body of research literature has indicated school principals are critical to overall school improvement (Heck & Hallinger, 2014; Jones, et al., 2015; Sleegers et al., 2014; Thoonen et al., 2011). However, improving the fortunes of low-performing schools remains a major concern and challenge in many education systems (Meyers & Darwin, 2017). Research into turnaround school has been undertaken predominantly in the Western context, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom (Harris et al., 2018), Australia, Canada, England, and Sweden (Liu, 2020). However, research in developing countries remains relatively limited. The term ‘school turnaround’ remains elusive (Stuit, 2012) and there is "no single definition of school turnaround exists" (Hochbein & Mahone, 2017, p. 15). The term turnaround is generally referred as low performing schools that have significantly improved and transformed their challenging circumstances and student academic achievements into high performing schools (Chapman & Muijs, 2013). “While the research is clear on what an effective school should look like, there is considerably less research, let alone consensus, on the process by which a low performing school becomes a high performing school” (Murphy & Meyers, 2008, p. 252). The term “turnaround” itself is goal-directed in its usage. Leading writers describes it as helping poor and minority students in declining schools, reach their potential by developing a safe and nurturing educational environment (Leithwood & Strauss, 2008; Fullan, 2005). Recent research has found that turnaround schools are mostly affected by communities that disadvantaged and living in poverty (Reyes & Garcia, 2014). School decline is commonly associated with a complex range of factors including poor facilities, poor leadership (Harris, et al., 2018), limited resources and funds (Duke & Jacobson, 2011). Therefore, society has a moral obligation to identify and reverse the fortunes of these schools, as all children in these communities, have a right to high quality education (Harold, Burbach, Alfred & Butler, 2005). The right turnaround principal makes a difference (Meyers & Hambrick Hitt, 2017) to what has been described as a ‘wicked problem’ (Harris, Leithwood & Strauss, 2010). Turnaround is a ‘wicked problem’ as it has the potential to return unless the school is successfully led through turnaround (Duke, 2010) ultimately ensuring its sustainable success (Hargreaves & Fink, 2006). In addition, sustainability is most likely to be achieved if the initiatives of turnaround leaders are anchored in school improvement practices and strategies (Hargreaves & Fink, 2006). Day (2014) cautions there are no ‘quick fixes’ to achieve sustainable change and such change will take time. It is widely agreed that five to eight years of support is needed to ensure sustained change in student performance (Day et al., 2010; Fullan, 2007). In addition, the capacity to balance school resources with rising expectations sits at the centre of this consideration. Therefore, research literatures suggest some consistent strategies to ensure turnaround schools’ sustainability. For example, the implementation of accountability measures (Butler, 2012), careful monitoring of teachers’ professional development, encourage parent participation (Liu, 2020), changing the school communities’ perceptions and beliefs (Fullan, 2010), and a combination of ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ change (Fullan, 2007). Interestingly, these strategies are strongly linked to strong school leadership. Thus, learning more about how principals are going about their work to lead rapid school improvement within the systems context is critical to ensuring the leadership moves necessary to change trajectories.

Turnaround leadership in education: A restatement of heroic leadership or a flawed concept

Turnaround leadership in education: A restatement of heroic leadership or a flawed concept

Turnaround leaders’ shifting gears in chronos and kairos time

Purpose In empirical research and practitioner guides, turnaround processes tend to be described in terms of discrete stages and strategies. Though necessary, this characterization belies the twists and turns of turnaround leadership. The purpose of this paper is to expand the assumptions of how turnaround proceeds in linear chronos time with the sensibilities of kairos time or the “right” time for turnaround leadership moves. Design/methodology/approach This study is an exploratory qualitative multi-case study with principals and their key supports (assistant principals, district leaders, teacher leaders) in four public turnaround schools. The grounded theory analysis conceptualizes the experiences of turnaround principals in flexible, complex ways. Findings The findings begin with a metaphor and definition of “shifting gears” at chronos and kairos times that emphasizes how turnaround principals make adaptive, agentic adjustments when moving forward through changing terrain. The second half of findings describes each principal’s experiences and reflections on their discernment of the right times for change within a chronological trajectory of turnaround. In addition, the leaders described shifting gears as strategic and responsive to contexts, sometimes taking a psychological toll. Originality/value Expanding notions of time in turnaround re-centers turnaround leaders as engaging in intellectually and emotionally demanding work. Such recognition challenges future research to address experiences and emotions in dynamic contexts. Hence, with this study, preparation programs and state and local systems may adjust holistic supports and leadership pipelines to sustain turnaround leaders.

Current Turnaround Leadership Challenges and Emerging Best Practices in Global Education and Social Development: A Critical Appraisal

Current Turnaround Leadership Challenges and Emerging Best Practices in Global Education and Social Development: A Critical Appraisal

A study into “organisational readiness” and its impacts on school improvement

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare measures of socio-economic status (Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage values (ICSEA)), school performance, school funding and school readiness in terms of their impact on student performance. In this respect, the paper tests the proposition – given research that suggests the teacher is the important ingredient in improved student learning performance – that a school principal who has strategical worked to “ready” their teachers for a whole of school teaching improvement agenda will generate increased student learning results than those who have not and further this improvement will occur irrespective of the circumstance of the socio-economic circumstance of the school.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 22 Government schools from a single school district in Australia participated in the study, after having been involved in a system sponsored “teaching improvement program”. A survey, consisting of 30 seven-point Likert-style scale items, was administered to all teachers and school leaders in the school district. The survey was designed to rate levels of staff perceived alignment, capability and engagement to the programme as it was implemented by the Head in each school. The information regarding each school’s ICSEA value, funding per student and student learning performance, was obtained from the database provided by the relevant authority (ACARA). All statistical analysis was completed using SPSS Version 22.FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that high levels of organisational readiness, as defined by the alignment, capability and engagement (ACE) approach, are associated with effective teaching and improvement in student outcomes. In turn, the authors interpret this to mean that the internal organisation of a school has important effects on student achievement that are independent to external factors such as school funding or even the socio-educational positioning of the school.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study indicate that high levels of organisational readiness, as defined by the ACE approach, are associated with effective teaching and improvement in student outcomes. The implications are that the ACE provides a framework for what the school leader needs to focus on when whole of school teaching improvement is the goal. The study did not investigate what the school leader did in each school to ready their staff.Practical implicationsThese findings indicate the importance of leadership in a school and provide an insight into what the school leader needs to focus on when whole of school teaching improvement is the intended goal. This focus can thus be understood as the leader working to ensure all staff members are ACE to the improvement agenda.Social implicationsThe improvement of educational outcomes is a global goal of governments. In this respect, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) school systems in particular have linked education system performance and international competitiveness in ways that place pressure on the “black box” of individual schools. Reports, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment and local testing regimes testify that governments and communities are interested in the academic performance of students within and across schooling systems. The benefits of high performing schools contribute to the standard of living of citizens and the well-being of a society more generally. This paper investigates propositions that focus the work of the school leader to achieving such inherent goals.Originality/valueThe paper introduces the concept of school readiness. The premise is considered important to the current research because it represents the ability of schools to participate in reform agendas that are characteristic of government policy positions. The “school readiness” approach lies outside the education literature, motivated by the idea that the literature on turning around failing organisations in sectors outside of education provides clear guidelines for reforming schools. The implications for turnaround leadership are particularly encouraging and important particular organisational factors, in common with sectors outside of education, are of significant importance in enhancing teacher motivation, teacher learning and consequential improvements in student outcomes. This paper seeks to add empirical evidence in support of these approaches by adopting what the authors refer as organisational “readiness” for reform developed by Schiemann (2014).

Understanding turnaround leadership research: Continuity and change (2009–2016)

This review paper describes the development of turnaround leadership research in educational settings to understand its trends and future directions. The review uses an established research process to make sense of the turnaround leadership literature. It identifies the continuities and discontinuities in this research area, which have strong implications for researchers in different fields. This study contributes to the research on school turnaround and provides practical guidance.

Planning for school turnaround in the United States: an analysis of the quality of principal-developed quick wins

ABSTRACTResearch suggests that high-quality school improvement planning reflective of the school’s needs and objectives is central to a principal’s success in leading a school. Some American scholars contend that successfully planned and executed “quick wins” are critically important to launching high-level organizational change processes necessary to turn around low-performing schools. Yet, lack of research suggests that the concept of quick wins may be built more on assumptions than evidence. In this study, we evaluate formal quick wins as planned by school principals participating in a turnaround leadership program in the United States. Our results suggest that principals struggle to develop high-quality quick wins despite their relative simplicity as an improvement planning starting point, especially in comparison with the development of traditional annual improvement or development plans. Finally, we consider the implications of these results in relation to traditional school improvement planning, especially in response to low-performing school contexts.

Triggering Change: An Investigation of the Logics of Turnaround Leadership

Principals are positioned at the center of school improvement. In the United States, current turnaround reforms target the principalship as a key lever for change. This article uses institutional theory to explore the logics of turnaround leadership that steer principals and their work. Specifically, we draw on qualitative interview data from a phenomenological study of a cohort of aspiring turnaround principals in a northeastern state to explain how educators invoked and enacted four logics of turnaround leadership. We found that, in addition to engaging with the previously identified logics of instructional, managerial, and social justice leadership, participants invoked a new logic that we name “triggering change.” This logic focused squarely on building capacity via positive relationships and shaping culture as mechanisms for whole school improvement. By depicting aspiring principals’ conceptions and negotiations of these four logics, we contribute to the literature on turnaround policy and leadership with implications for turnaround leader development.

Preparing turnaround leaders for high needs urban schools

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the program structure and design considerations of a 25-day, full-time apprenticeship in a university-based principal preparation program.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a qualitative case study design that drew upon interviews and focus groups with program participants as well as program-related documents. Qualitative data analysis was completed using ATLAS.ti.FindingsThe analysis suggests that the apprenticeship had three specific design features that were intended to support the apprentice’s development for turnaround leadership. These included locating the apprenticeship experience in a turnaround school setting; focusing the apprenticeship on district structures and procedures; and situating the apprentice’s work within the district’s approved improvement process.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited in that recurring, on-site observations of apprenticeship activities were not possible. The study has implications for principal preparation programs related to the design of fieldwork experiences, as well as for educational scholars seeking to study the impact of fieldwork on principal efficacy.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the broader discussion of effective fieldwork experiences for aspiring school leaders, particularly when specific conceptions of leadership are infused within program designs.

Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation

Middleby Corporation was a designer and manufacturer of commercial food processing and food service equipment for fast food as well as high-end restaurants. During the latter half of the 1990s, Middleby became increasingly unfocused as its number of product lines increased dramatically. Margins and sales slipped. At the same time, some of the company's high-profile product development initiatives ended in failure. Although Middleby's top management recognized some of these apparent warning signs, rather than take action, they seemed eager to blame the disappointing results solely on the company's overseas operations. This inaction caused Middleby's financial performance to deteriorate further, resulting in violations of its loan covenants. To finally correct the situation, Selim Bassoul was moved from his role as general manager of Middleby's Southbend plant up to chief operating officer for the entire corporation. Bassoul had taken the underperforming Southbend plant and turned it into a star performer, correcting and improving customer service, operations, and finances and establishing a clear strategic direction. Bassoul had to craft a turnaround plan for the entire company in the areas of strategy, operations, and finance. He cut the number of products substantially, fired some key customers after a customer profitability analysis, and focused product development on innovative products that saved Middleby's customers time and money. Following these changes and others, the company returned to profitability and Bassoul was named CEO. Bassoul then decided to present a major acquisition opportunity to the board of directors.1. Successful turnarounds require three essential elements to be addressed: strategy, finance, and operations, all under the CEO's leadership. Students will learn how each element alone and in combination work to make a successful turnaround. 2. Students will learn turnaround leadership skills and see their parallel as entrepreneurial leadership skills. 3. Students will learn that decisions on products, customers, and employee motivation all affect a turnaround strategy.

The Double Bind for Women: Exploring the Gendered Nature of Turnaround Leadership in a Principal Preparation Program

In this study of nine participants in a turnaround principal preparation program, Jennie Miles Weiner and Laura J. Burton explore how gender role identity shaped participants' views of effective principal leadership and their place within it. The authors find that although female and male participants initially framed effective leadership similarly, their conceptualizations of themselves as leaders, the feedback they felt they received regarding their skills, and their access to employment were sharply divided based on gender and had real implications for how women viewed their leadership capabilities and potential success as school leaders.

Turnaround leadership core tensions during the company turnaround process

How leaders turn around declining performance is a significant issue for companies, their employees, their customers, their shareholders and, more generally, society. Leadership influence during times of change is well recognised in the literature; however, leadership during a turnaround is more complex and less understood. In-depth examinations of the role and activities of turnaround leaders have received insufficient attention in the literature to date. Specifically, studies have not investigated, in-depth, the tensions that leaders face during a turnaround process. To begin addressing this gap in the literature, we utilise case studies of four companies to examine the core tensions leaders experience, when they occur during the turnaround process and how they are managed. We frame our focus on leadership tensions in three prominent domains in the literature, leadership change, leadership assertiveness and strategic orientation. Our findings identify and detail the management of six core tensions that leaders experience across a five-stage turnaround process model. We conclude that effective turnaround leadership is less about particular skill sets or ‘types’ of leaders for different stages of the recovery process, and more about their ability to purposefully navigate and balance apparently conflicting activities within these tensions. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.

Developing Arizona Turnaround Leaders to Build High-Capacity Schools in the Midst of Accountability Pressures and Changing Demographics

Today’s accountability policies and changing demographics have created conditions in which leaders must rapidly build school capacity and improve outcomes in culturally diverse schools. This article presents findings from a mixed-methods evaluation of an Arizona Turnaround Leadership Development Project. The project drew on studies of turnaround leadership, capacity, and turnaround leadership development projects. Leadership teams attended institutes and regional coaching sessions focused on assessment literacy, curriculum, culturally responsive practices, organizational redesign, and community relationships. Results indicated gains in turnaround leadership knowledge and the importance of district support, full participation, and relationships with culturally diverse community members.

Leading after a crisis

PurposeShaun O'Callaghan draws on work from book: Turnaround Leadership, which gives managers and leaders the tools they need to make decisions that will help them to lead and motivate their staff, and better communicate with customers, investors, lenders and teams.Design/methodology/approachExamines the steps that have to be taken in order to successfully lead in times of crisis.FindingsIn the normal course of business, a leader is constantly making and trying to deliver on a set of promises to key stakeholders. The choices of what promises to make and, critically, the delivery against those promises is the fundamental core of what a business does. In many ways, you could say that the principal role of a leader is to make, balance and deliver business promises.Practical implicationOffers a practical guide to making decisions and managing stakeholders when business conditions become tough.Originality/valueWhen things go badly wrong, it is your role, as leader, to decide what promises (if any) you make, and to which of your stakeholders. In periods of disruptive change, people crave more certainty, even when you can probably provide less. In these circumstances, it is important to consider a 360 degree view of the problem, including the perspectives of your customers, investors, lenders, employees and suppliers. What do they really need to know and want to hear? This will help you to devise, communicate and deliver a successful recovery plan and make promises that balance.